Metamorphosis
by whackameg
Summary: After another failed attempt to snatch Pikachu, Jessie confides in James her doubts of being a member of Team Rocket. Oneshot with Rocketshippng galore.


**A/N: I do not own Pokémon, nor the brilliance of Team Rocket shipping. I guess you could say this is somewhat out of character, seeing that this will certainly never happen on the show. R&R is good for the soul. **

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"Why must this always happen to us?"

Jessie eyed her periwinkle-haired teammate skeptically as he continued to complain and complain on. Clad in his usual Team Rocket attire, James always appeared to have absolutely no mean bone in his lanky body. A Jigglypuff would look more menacing in that uniform than he ever would.

"Because," Jessie jabbed an accusing finger at James' chest, "YOUR plans always fail." 

"My plans?" James shrunk back from Jessie's finger, as usual. "Meowth comes up with the plans!" 

"Hey! What's dat supposed to mean?"

The two humans glared down at their feline-like sidekick who was currently standing knee-high between them. Jessie's eyes narrowed, raising her leg to squash the poor Pokémon into the ground.

"YOU STAY OU—"

"AAACK!"

For a cat unnaturally walking on two legs, Meowth could move fairly fast. He darted out from under her boot, seeking refuge in their infamous air balloon that had crash-landed, again, in the middle of nowhere.

James looked on as this scene unfolded, not desiring any part of this fiasco. More than once has he strayed to Jessie's bad side and boy, did he regret it. If only Meowth would learn the same.

Jessie now had her back to James, trembling in what was clearly fury. Her fists clenched and her face grew almost as scarlet as her massive hair. Her lips were shut tight in a thin line, obviously struggling to keep from screaming in frustration. Against his better judgment, James tried to soothe the wild beast.

"We'll get that Pikachu sometime," James crept cautiously, trying his best to still keep his distance as he walked closer. "We almost got it this—"

"Sometime?" A scoff could be heard as Jessie turned on James, her face snarled. "You said 'sometime' last time, and the time before that, and the time before THAT!"

Anger radiated from her body, causing James to flinch in terror. "But we get so close! We'll get him! I just know it!"

Jessie hesitated, on the verge of striking her partner across the face. It wasn't so much his pleas as the petrified look in his eyes that froze her to the spot. The innocence still shining clean in his eyes, the twinkle of his pure heart, his childish demeanor: that was what subdued her. She wasn't oblivious to his boyish and fruity nature; he's had his moments quite often. But now was a completely different story.

The wrath melted from Jessie's face, her expression softening to one of sorrow. "Why can't we ever win?"

"Because the writers make it so?" James remained wary; this kind of sudden mood swing has happened more than once, especially with someone like Jessie.

Jessie smiled, her simper crumbling with her quivering bottom lip. "I've never had anything in my life. I was…poor."

James bit back a coy response, still unconvinced. He instead stayed sympathetic. His voice quavered as well as he spoke, "Now, you have me—me-me-me-Meowth, the boss…the twerps?"

"Why would I want the twerps?" Jessie's eyes watered, the floodgates about to open any second now. "I have…I have…" She shed the tiniest tear, rolling down her cheek smoothly. "James…"

She collapsed into his unsuspecting arms, her sobs shaking her slim frame. Instinctively, James drew her closer to him, his body molding around hers. Jessie didn't object, much to James' suprise; instead, she buried her face into the welcoming warmth of his chest. He rested his head on hers, savoring the moment.

For once in his life, James truly felt like a man.

Jessie suddenly shifted, making James cringe. Did she know? Was she feeling the same way he was?

She lifted her eyes, studying the face looking down upon hers. "James…?" Her expression was gentle, her face streaked with tearstains.

"What?" James glanced at her quizzically as her voice trailed off. Jessie leaned back into James, breathing into the arch of his neck. He could feel her mouth move against his skin as she spoke, sending chills down his spine.

"Do you think that…maybe…we should have been good?" 

James jerked away, startled by her question. He gripped Jessie by her arms tightly as if he was afraid to let go. "Do I think…what?" 

She scowled slightly. "The twerps make being good seem so easy," she mused, absorbed in her thoughts. 

James, meanwhile, struggled to bring her back to Earth. "But you're so good at being bad!" It wasn't as if James never had his dose of evil remorse before. But out of all people, he could never imagine Jessie straying from her dogged evil doings.

Jessie's azure eyes pleaded with James now, tugging on his heartstrings. "Let's run away from all this, you and me," She murmured, lost to her fantasies now. "We can start a new life, forget all this happened."

Who was this dear and timid woman and what had she done with Jessie? James looked down on Jessie with more longing than ever before. He had been her partner in crime for years and never, until now, did he notice her vivacious curves, the smoothness of her skin, her sparkling eyes. How long had he been so blind? Maybe they were wrong. Maybe the barbaric Jessie had changed, blossomed into this beautiful rose of a woman. He took her into his arms, prepared this time.

"You and me…" His voice was scarcely above a whisper. "We'll—" 

"Da twerps!" Their bumbling feline friend bolted into sight, unaware of the intimate scene unfolding. He came to a stop before the pair, whom had now awkwardly separated. "Here dey come!"

Almost instantaneously, Jessie reverted to her usual manner. Bellowing at the top of her lungs, she commanded Meowth to go prepare their hot air balloon, who commenced immediately.

"Ahhh…" The two teammates continued to stand awkwardly, neither willing to break the heavy silence. After clearing his throat, James began to talk, "Have you seen my rose?"

Jessie rolled her eyes. What kind of a question was that? He was no better than those twerps. "Who cares about your stupid flower? You can always buy another one." She snapped, giving a toss to her hair before striding onwards.

James sighed inwardly, watching after her. Then it was true, after all. Things never do change.

As she walked away, Jessie smirked, knowing exactly where she had tucked away that precious flower. Besides, it still held that heavenly scent of his, the one that would make her head spin for hours on end. She knew perfectly well too, although not even wild Onyx would drag that secret out of her. And that was how things were going to stay.


End file.
